#regionalfoodexcellence: Naples and its agri-food specialties

After Naples and London, Eccellenze Campane food and wine pole is arriving in the heart of Milan, via Cusani 1, where it has been operational and open to the public since December 15th. The project, commissioned and launched by Paolo Scudieri, President of Eccellenze Campane and formerly President of Adler Group, was created with the aim of promoting and enhancing the agri-food excellences of Campania region in a short supply chain perspective, from producer to consumer, concentrating the best regional productions in a single structure.

The best of Made in Campania productions is leaving for Milan, in an area of ​​800 square meters where it will be possible to taste traditional specialities: from the classic Neapolitan pizza to the real PDO cow buffalo Mozzarella produced on site, from drawn pasta to warm ‘sfogliatella’ short-crust pastry and coffee, as well as all the delicacies of cuisine from Campania, which can also be purchased on the spot. Eccellenze Campane selects and guarantees high quality of its products, specialities and typical processes, which combine know-how of Campania and best ingredients, including many PDO and PGI productions known and appreciated worldwide.

Eccellenze Campane is the only centre in Italy where quality food products from Campania are produced, sold and consumed, and where values ​​of typicality, culture and tradition are combined with both sustainability and artisan aspects of the production methods, with genuineness and respect of raw materials, but, at the same time, with the important balance between quality and price.

In London, the centre has 200 square meters, of which 100 square meters are dedicated to the catering area, with 60 seats, and 100 square meters for the store area, based at L'Exmouth Market. It is a small oasis dedicated to culinary traditions, not to be missed for those who want to enjoy the pleasure of food in a relaxed atmosphere. A team of 10 people manage the restaurant. The kitchen is visible, with a window overlooking the street, so that guests can observe the work carried out by the chefs. The drinks are served on tap, in barrels containing an excellent range of Prosecco, beer, and wine, too. ‘The selection of the products is very rigorous, respecting the mission of the taste pole, that is to say the promotion of agri-food excellences without intermediary steps. We want to create the right combination of ingredients, to enhance both flavours and traditions of Terra del Buono’, it was explained. Paolo Scudieri said: ‘The opening of a first public place abroad represents a challenge to be pursued with commitment and dedication. We are inaugurating a new way of promoting our territory in other Countries. Through the culture of products, it is possible to re-launch the territory and create new jobs, but to do it we must follow the path of quality combined with tradition’.

Why now in Milan? Paolo Scudieri explained: ‘Because Milan, after Expo2015, is the European capital of food and an international showcase. We considered as essential to open another location here. Our project is comprehensive, a successful experiment that links the concept of point of sale to that of a place of aggregation, in which it is possible to taste typical, certified, and selected products of Campania region. This opening represents a tangible sign of the commitment with which our Group continues to be an ambassador of Italian know how, the emblem of a tradition that has made Made in Italy productions famous all over the world’.

Built on the model of the premises in Naples inaugurated in 2014, Eccellenze Campane in Milan was born from the project of Storage architecture firm and it wants to be a hymn to the Mediterranean style, without neglecting the international and metropolitan panorama. The concept store, structured on two levels, on the lower floor proposes an area dedicated to street food with a dairy, fry, coffee shop sector and above all pizzeria, where ‘pizza all’acqua di mare (sea water pizza)’ will be the main character, distinguished by a mixture with sea water and very long leavening, which ensures lightness, digestibility, and well-being, preserving the authentic taste of the ingredients; on the upper floor, in Trattoria Cetara, the chefs, with excellent raw materials and simple tastes, will revisit traditional dishes, in line with an idea of ​​natural and peasant cuisine, a true trademark of Eccellenze Campane.